


Firelillies and Family

by LunaFreyja



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, Chit Sang Adopts Zuko, Everyone adopts Zuko, Gaang (Avatar) as Family, Gen, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Hakoda adopts zuko, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), I'm new to this leave me alone, Katara & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, Mentioned Ozai (Avatar), Minor Bato/Hakoda (Avatar), Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Parental Hakoda (Avatar), Protective Gaang (Avatar), Sad Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, The Gaang Learns How Zuko Got The Scar (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko Friendship, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zuko's Scar (Avatar), lots of tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27507952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaFreyja/pseuds/LunaFreyja
Summary: He should have known something was going to happen. Really it should have been obvious. He just didn’t think the rest of the gang would have noticed a change in behavior. He didn’t think they cared enough to realize. He wouldn’t have, he chased them across the world for months and hurt them. Why would they care?
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Chit Sang & Zuko, Hakoda & Zuko (Avatar), Haru & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Suki & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 41
Kudos: 438





	Firelillies and Family

**Author's Note:**

> Hi this is my first work and I don't know if I should continue it or not so if y'all like it let me know. Man it's also been a while since I re read it oof, I'll only continue if people like it so.

He should have known something was going to happen. Really it should have been obvious. He just didn’t think the rest of the gang would have noticed a change in behavior. He didn’t think they cared enough to realize. He wouldn’t have, he chased them across the world for months and hurt them. Why would they care?

Toph noticed first, she felt the way his heart sped up around Hakoda and Chit Sang, she felt the way he always kept his scarred side faced away from them. And she especially noticed the way he became quieter around them. He was just starting to open up and become closer to her and Haru (who was surprisingly forgiving and nice to Zuko Toph was surprised). But after his and Sokka’s little ‘fishing trip’ when they brought Hakoda, Chit Sang, and Suki to the Western air temple it was like when he first joined the group. He became closed off, a fake smile plastered on his face at all times. When he was around Hakoda especially, his heart started beating extremely quickly, and he started wringing his hands often (as told to her by haru and teo who noticed him doing it one day by the fire).  
She wanted to ask what was going on, don’t get her wrong she really did, but panicked Zuko is surprisingly hard to get alone. Toph noticed how he always snuck off after he ate dinner and she could never find him. She suspected he went somewhere high, the guys like a fucking cat sometimes. (She has gotten scared by him many times when he jumped off a tree in front of her, of course this led to him getting punched, hard, in the shoulder, many times. He’s also been found laying out in the sun, again, like a cat). So it’s always difficult to find him even on his good days, on his bad days it’s damn near impossible. He still practiced with Aang everyday in the mornings, he still ate dinner with them, and he went hunting and foraging when he was needed, but every other time during the day he just disappeared. 

She really wished he trusted her enough to talk to her.

The second person to notice Zuko’s off behavior was, of course, Aang. He was the only other person other than Toph that he spent the most time with due to Aang firebending training and all. And Aang would like to think they were friends, ever since the trip to the dragons he felt like they bonded. He may be 12 years old, but he knows Zuko is acting weirdly, he doesn’t really know why, but he noticed. It started when Him and Sokka got back from the boiling rock with Katara’s father, a random fire nation adult, and Suki. He started leaving early from dinner, slipping away when people were too involved in conversation to notice. He always noticed though, so did Toph who he knows Zuko is the closest too other than haru. He like Toph wanted to ask what was wrong but also like Toph he could never seem to find him when he wasn’t needed.  
But different from Toph he did find him once. One night a few days after Boiling Rock, Aang was trying to find momo, he always slept with him. So he went over to where Appa sleeps and he found Zuko laying on Appa’s side fast asleep, Momo curled on his lap. He wasn’t exactly surprised, he noticed how much Appa liked him when he first joined the group. Momo was more of a surprise, Momo didn’t really get along with new people. So finding him on Zuko’s lap was a really confusing sight. He wanted to go and see if something happened to Zuko, he wasn’t suspicious of him, Aang was quick to trust and he saw how much Zuko changed so it was easy to trust him and like him. He was just worried, he wanted to make sure he was ok and why he was sleeping with Appa and not near the rest of the group.  
As he got closer he realised something concerning, he could tell Zuko was crying, he saw the tear tracks in the moonlight. He was curled up on Appa’s side and Momo’s head was on his chest, as he got even closer in the dark he noticed Appa was looking at him. 

“Hey Buddy” Aang whispered as he got closer to the bison, not wanting to be loud as to not wake Zuko up. 

“Woah boy” startled Aang when he was pushed away when he got close to Zuko by Appa’s head. The bison glared at him and curled his head closer to Zuko as if he was trying to protect him. Aang was startled and he tried to get closer again only to pushed away again, “Wha-” Appa growled lowly at him startling Aang so much he stumped backwards. The bison curled his head protectively around Zuko again and closed his eyes, ending the confrontation.  
Aang startled and upset, walked away back to his bedroll questions swirling through his head. Why was Zuko crying? Why was he with Appa? Why was Momo there?

And most of all, why didn’t Appa let him closer to Zuko?

As he was falling asleep, questions upon questions going through his head he realised something when he was on the brink of falling asleep. Appa was protecting zuko…

From him

And he fell asleep more confused than ever. The next day when he was woken up by Zuko for training he looked lighter and less stressed than the day before, he didn’t question when he saw zuko going to Appa the night after when he was looking out for him on a ledge close to where Appa slept. He just went to sleep afterwards and kept what he knew to himself. 

Surprisingly the third person to notice, was actually the third and fourth. Katara and Sokka noticed at around the same time. They were together when they first noticed something off.  
After Sokka had gotten their dad back Katara had been attached to Hakoda by the hip, not leaving him along with Sokka. They left him once, they were never going to leave him again. They didn’t want their family to get torn apart again.  
It happened three days after Sokka and Zuko came back. Katara was cooking dinner and Sokka was talking animatedly with their father, the rest of the group sitting in various other places around the fire. 

“And then Zuko did this awesome fire breath thing!” Sokka yelled waving his hands around mimicking Zuko while Hakoda sat beside him looking at his son with an amused look in his eyes.

As he continued his story, Katara, who was already looking at the firebender who sat beside Toph (the friendship surprised her but honestly it made sense to her). She still didn’t trust him but she did have to admit he was helpful. She noticed something odd, however, when his name was mentioned Zuko’s eyes widened and he started messing with his hands. He kept his head down and she could see his hands shaking a little.  
Nothing else of interest happened that night, everyone ate and conversed, she did, however along with Sokka, noticed Zuko slip away while everyone was talking. They only noticed because their father was grabbing something so she and Sokka were just talking. 

“Hey Sokka?” Katara quietly called to her brother  
“Yea?” Sokka said, mouthful of stew  
“One swallow first, and did you see Zuko slip away?” she inquired, gaze on where Zuko was just sitting,  
“Huh? Oh weird maybe he had to go to the bathroom or something” Sokka said absentmindedly more focused on their dad coming back to where , she acknowledged him and continued gazing around the temple to see if she could see the firebender in the darkness. She couldn’t see him. She chalked the incident off as nothing important, she didn’t think he was up to anything for once, he was probably just tired.  
She did however notice things she hadn't before after the incident. She noticed that he did and has been leaving dinner early without anyone other than Toph, Aang, Haru, The Duke, and Teo, the latter three who sat next to him often during dinner. Everyone else didn’t really notice. She also noticed how he kept his scarred side away from the adults, and how he kept wringing his hands anxiously around her Father and Chit Sang? She thinks that's what his name was, she didn’t really care about him much. 

She told this much to Sokka one night. She was more confused than suspicious and she’ll never say it but she was concerned as well. And after she told Sokka, he also noticed the things Zuko did. He asked Toph one day about it,

“Hey Toph, I have a question for you ,” Sokka told Toph when she and him were in the temple one day exploring.  
“Ask away Snoozles,” Toph told him after she punched his shoulder lightly.  
“Have you noticed how Zuko has been acting weirdly?” Sokka asked, watching how her face warped into one of surprise and then concern. Now he was concerned.  
“So I’m not the only one huh?” Toph said quietly  
“Katara Told me how he was sneaking away one night and she kept an eye on him and noticed things, and i'm pretty sure Aang noticed it too.” Toph perked up at that,  
“Hm..” the conversation went stale and they just continued walking and soon the conversation they had went forgotten.

Everything came to a stop exactly one week after Boiling Rock. Everyone was sitting around the fire. It was raining, so everyone was a bit gloomy, other than Katara (“It’s a waterbender thing” she had said one day when the group was in a cave they had ran into after it started pouring). Sokka, Hakoda and Katara were talking quietly. Toph was having a one sided conversation with Zuko who in turn responded with simple yes’s and no’s. 

As Sokka was getting up, he accidentally dropped his stew, his hot stew on hakoda. Hakoda let out a small shout of surprise and got up fast to get the broth out of his shirt. Sokka started freaking out and apologizing,

“SORRY! SORRY!” Sokka yelled trying to get a cloth to clean up the mess  
“It's ok,” Hakoda grunted after Katara used her bending to get the broth out of his shirt while Aang asked if he was ok. 

“Stop,” Hakoda said in response to Sokka’s hurried apologies and he went to go put his hand on his shoulder to comfort him when a loud gasp and a crash reverberated through the area. 

“Zuko?!” came Toph's worried and startled voice, “What's Wrong?”

Everyone turned to look at Zuko, he was standing and his bowl of stew was on the ground. He was breathing heavily and his hands were violently shaking. He looked at Hakoda in fear, tears springing up in his eyes. 

No one ever saw that look on his face. 

And they never want to again.

“Zuko?” Hakoda said slowly, the first to break the heavy silence, “Did, did you think I was going to Hurt Sokka?” He asked, realizing the gasp came after he raised his hand, in the same slow concerned voice one would use to speak to a scared child.

Well that's really what he is, just a scared child, they all are.  
Zuko, noticing everyone looking at him with varying levels of concern and confusion started panicking more, “I- I- I’m-” he stuttered not able to create a sentence. Hakoda, who slowly made his way over to Zuko went to go put a comforting hand on his shoulder, his parental instincts kicking in. Zuko flinched back so violently he fell backwards into a sitting position startling everyone, including himself.

“Im sorry” Zuko whimpered, his voice cracking.  
“Im sorry, Im sorry, Im sorry-” he kept repeating like a mantra as he scrambled up, shaking on his feat  
“I- I'm just going to go” he said quietly, tears still streaming down his cheek.

He ran off, stumbling every few steps. Everyone just watched him confused, concerned, and scared

‘Wait!-” Aang yelled, already going after him, before a warm hand on his shoulder stopped him, 

Chit Sang

“Don't,” the ex-convict said quietly, looking in the direction Zuko looked with an unreadable look in his eyes.  
“What- Just happened?” Katara asked in a voice so small it was hard to hear her. 

The question was directed to the other firebender, everyone looked at him in confusion wondering why he stopped Aang. He was still looking in the direction Zuko ran, anger and sadness in his eyes. He sighed and looked back to the group.

“Let's sit back down,” he said softly, guiding Aang back to the fire by his shoulder while the airbender looked at him confusedly. And once everyone sat down they started asking questions.  
“It isn’t my story to tell” he said in that same soft voice as he looked into the fire absentmindedly.  
“His heart,” a small voice whimpered from behind them, they all turned and saw Toph with tears in her eyes, head facing the rest of the group.  
“What about his heart?” Asked Sokka slowly  
“He was so scared” she said, voice so quiet they had to strain to hear it, “I’ve never felt someone so scared before.” 

They all looked to Chit Sang again more worried than before, even Katara, the one who doesn’t even trust him was concerned. Just because she doesn’t like him doesn't mean she wants to see him that scared, no one should be that scared.

He sighed, long and quietly. 

“He’s been hurt a lot in his past,” he stopped, took a deep breath, “He’s been through so much in his short life, a lot more than some of you, he didn’t have the best family life.” He finished, voice sad.  
“How do you know?” Katara asked, confused.  
“I used to be a palace guard before I was thrown into the prison. I used to guard him before he was banished-”  
“Wait banished?” Hakoda said, confused  
“He was banished when he was thirteen. I'm not going to tell you guys the full story, because once again it's not my story to tell. He will tell you when he is ready. All I’m going to say is, it is not a happy story. I got arrested because I was against his banishment, I was already not loyal to the crown, it was cruel, many of the guards and servants agreed with me. Zuko used to be such a happy child, he was kind to everyone, even the lowest servants. I don't serve the fire lord, I serve Zuko, he is the one I will follow” he finished as he slowly stood up.  
“I’m going to go after him,” he said eyes looking in the direction Zuko went eyes scanning the area  
“What why?” Aamg exclaimed  
“I'm the only one who knows why he acted like that, I can comfort him in a way he needs, you stay here,” he said, the tone of his voice leaving no room for arguments and he walked away into the direction zuko went.

The fire was slowly dying, all that can be heard is the pitter patter of the rain and the cracking of the logs. Everyone was slowly processing what happened. 

No one liked the implications of what happened. Zuko was scared by Hakoda, a father only going to put his hand on his son's shoulder to comfort him. He thought he was going to raise his hand on his son. Everything is slowly clicking into place making everyone more and more horrified.

Zuko had been hurt before.

And everyone was horrified to realise.

By his own father.

Chit Sang found him sitting on a ledge of the temple sitting in the rain. In the darkness he could see that Zuko was picking at the cracks in the ground, his head hanging low. He had his legs dangling off the edge of the temple. He looked up when Chit Sang moved to sit down next to him. He looked into Zuko’s eyes and his heart broke when he saw fear in those eyes.

Those gold eyes that used to be bright and happy, now sad and dull.

He sat down and looked into the distance, he could feel those eyes on him, calculating, and waiting for him to do something. He just sat there, waiting for the figure next to him to realize he wasn’t a threat, so he could calm down before he tried to talk to him. Thoughts swirling through his head on how to handle the situation, how to talk to Zuko without scaring him. A crack of lightning broke him out of his thoughts and he felt the teen beside him jump. He looked over at the scared boy who was staring at the sky, arms wrapped around himself shaking slightly. He calmed down a few minutes later and slowly looked towards the older firebender hands still shaking. He still said nothing, the rain was growing harder and harder as they made eye contact and Chit Sang slowly stood up and put his hand out.

“We should go somewhere more dry”, he said calmly, voice devoid of any emotions.

Zuko looked at his hand for a moment before he slowly reached out with a trembling hand and allowed himself to be carefully pulled up. His hand wasn’t let go as The former guard guided him to a quieter and nicer area in the temple. He found a nice secluded area, still open so Zuko wasn’t overwhelmed. They still had a view of the edge of the temple where they were just sitting.  
Chit sang released Zuko’s hand and sat down, waiting for Zuko to sit down as well. The prince looked at him with an unsure look in his golden eyes. He slowly sat down keeping his eyes on the man. He kept a good few feet between them. 

“Why are you here” came the raspy voice of the ex prince, so quiet, so sad it was hard to hear.

Chit Sang looked at him for a few moments, he noticed Zuko had started picking at his fingers. 

“You mean you don’t remember me?” the older firebender said,  
“I'd like to think you’d remember the guard that helped you steal food from the kitchens all the time”, he said with a hopeful smile on his face.

Zuko looked confused, he looked off to the side pondering. The older male saw the gears turning in his head and he saw the boys eyes widen. Zuko looked at him, conflicted and hoping. 

*Flashback,,, lmao*

‘It was late, the palace was quiet, peaceful, aside from the young prince. A young Zuko sprung up with a small whimper, back stiff. He was shaking, tears still streaming down his face from the nightmare that woke him. He tried to calm himself down, doing breathing exercises his Uncle Iroh and cousin Lu Ten tried to teach him. He was still shaking and crying softly, when the door too his room opened. He didn’t notice the soft footsteps slowly coming to his bed until a hand found itself on his shoulder. He jumped, looking up and trying to wipe his tears away when he saw the concerned face of his favorite guard. Chit Sang.  
“Are you ok? I heard a noise” he said, still kneeling beside the bed, hand still on the boys shoulder.  
Zuko was quiet, he didn’t want to answer. He didn’t want to seem weak in front of someone he looked up to, he just looked down and started messing with his hands. Chit Sang, concerned and confused, slowly got up and sat on the side of Zuko's bed, his knees starting to hurt from kneeling.  
“Did you have a nightmare?” he asked softly.  
Zuko nodded mutely, still ashamed. His father thought nightmares showed weakness. He didn’t want to show weakness, but he just couldn’t handle it anymore. He shot out from his blankets to hug the older man and started crying again. The guard let out a “Oof” but slowly wound his arms around the crying prince.  
“It’s ok, let it out” he said comforting the boy in his arms.  
He started rocking the child back and forth whispering comforting words. The prince slowly calmed down, and after a few minutes stopped crying, the only sounds in the room are quiet sniffles. Chit Sang sat there, quiet for, and a few minutes after Zuko stopped crying, and softly asked:  
“Do you want to talk about it?”  
Zuko shook his head, burying his face into the guards shoulder. Chit Sang not wanting to leave the boy and let him curl into him, his arms still protectively around him. He thought for a few moments, and an idea came to his head.  
“Do you want to go raid the kitchens again?” he asked a little mischievously.  
The boy's head shot up a small smile on his face, he nodded enthusiastically. Stealing food from the kitchens was one of the prince's favorite past times. Chit Sang caught him one day, and after he calmed the boy down making sure he knew he wasn’t in trouble and he wasn’t going to hurt him, joined in. It was something they did for fun, other guards joining in every once and awhile. Everyone in the staff had a soft spot for the kid. They all wanted to protect him from his father, but it was hard, they really tried though. They really did.  
Chit Sang slowly got up and helped the boy up, and they quietly opened the door and went into the hallway. They walked leisurely to the kitchens, the guard asking Zuko questions about his day, the boy responding, voice still a little sad and raspy. He was slowly starting to calm down fully, his normal energy and personality slipping through the cracks.  
That was their usual schedule, Chit Sang calmed Zuko down and provided comfort when it was needed, and then they went to the kitchens to get a snack or some tea. They then went back to his room and he went to sleep. It usually happened a few times a week or when things were going ok once a week. Chit Sang was always there to protect Zuko, and give the kid a friend or a parental figure when he needed one.  
He was the father he never had.

*End scene*

**Author's Note:**

> Band bang I have no Idea what I'm doing luvs if you can't tell I have a weird love for Chit Sang even though he was kind of a dick idk I loved him leave me alone. Also let me know if there are any errors I don't have anyone to read it and I haven't watched Avatar in a few months so


End file.
